Gene Tierney portrays a beautiful but unstable woman who marries successful novelist
Cornel Wilde.
Tierney wants to spend all her time with her new husband, but finds it impossible to do so thanks to his work and the frequent visits of family and friends. When
Wilde's crippled younger brother (
Darryl Hickman) comes to the couple's summer house to stay,
Ms. Tierney indirectly causes the boy to drown. Later, upon discovering that she's pregnant,
Tierney deliberately falls down the stairs, choosing to miscarry rather than share her husband's affections with an infant. When it becomes clear that family friend
Jeanne Crain is attracted to her husband,
Ms. Tierney commits suicide, making her death appear to be murder and framing
Crain for the "crime." In court,
Ms. Crain is mercilessly grilled by prosecuting attorney
Vincent Price, who happens to be
Tierney's ex-lover! Filmed in lush Technicolor,
Leave Her to Heaven is based on the best-selling novel by
Ben Ames Williams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide